My most accurate load for my .45 cal pistol was with 3.8 g Clays and with the original Star 185g LHPSWC black lube. Testing off sandbags, I was able to repeatably get 100-8 to 9x's. Never had trouble with bridging or measuring with my Dillon 650XL. There's more felt recoil than BE powder so I had used BE for the short line. When the Star bullets switched to the white lube, the Clays powder never worked as well and now I exclusively use BE for both the long and short line. Of course the Star bullets are no longer available so once I run out I'll be back to do more testing.Perhaps my sand bag testing abilities have declined through the years and with the development of cataract in my shooting eye, I rely on my calls during SF matches rather than sandbag testing to establish accuracy of a load. I've not used a ransom rest and don't feel the need because of technique learning curve.

I used Clays until it became impossible to find. Never had bridging problems (1050 & 550 Dillons). I also loaded to 3.8 g. One added benefit was it was very temp stable. Switched to WST when Clays was off the shelf but when I found some I bought 8lbs of Clays for when the WST runs out. - Dave

Last edited by dronning on Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:07 am; edited 1 time in total